Bryan Kohberger has pleaded guilty to all counts.
A judge sentenced Bryan Kohberger to serve four life sentences without parole for the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students nearly three years ago.
In Wednesday's hearing, families of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves described the anguish they've felt since their loved ones were killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022.
MORE | Judge sentences Bryan Kohberger to life in prison for murdering 4 University of Idaho students
The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
Judge Steven Hippler sentenced Bryan Kohberger to life in prison for murdering the four University of Idaho students in 2022.
Judge Hippler sentenced Kohberger to 10 years for burglary and four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, along with $270,000 in fines and civil penalties.
Judge Steven Hippler called Bryan Kohberger a "coward" who "slithered through the sliding glass door at 1122 King Road" and "now stands unmasked."
This "unfathomable and senseless act of evil has caused immeasurable pain and loss," Hippler said. "No parent should ever have to bury their child. This is the greatest tragedy that can be inflicted upon a person."
"We are now certain who committed these unspeakable acts of evil, but what we don't know, and what we may never know, is why," he said.
Hipper said he wants to know the motive, but that "by continuing to focus on why, we continue to give Mr. Kohberger relevance," and the "spotlight, attention and power he appears to crave."
Hipper said he cannot legally force Kohberger to speak, and said even if he did speak, there's no way to know if he would tell the truth.
"Even in pleading guilty, he's giving nothing hinting of remorse or redemption," Hippler said, and said he will not speak of him further beyond sentencing him.
After listening to statements from victims' families, Bryan Kohberger said in court, "I respectfully decline" to speak.
"I respectfully decline," he said.
One person said, "surprise, surprise," in the courtroom. Another said, "coward."
Prosecutor Bill Thompson said in court that the discussion about the plea deal had to stay secret to avoid tampering potential jurors if the trial went forward. He said he respected the fact that some of the victims' relatives did not agree with the plea deal.
As the families wept, Thompson displayed a photo of each victim in the courtroom. He listed each count and read the names of the victims: Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
"From today forward, our memories should be focused on these innocent victims whose lives were taken," he said.
The victims not only had their own families, and not just their friends and sororities and fraternities, "but this family," Thompson said, as he displayed the photo of the four victims and the two surviving roommates that was taken on Nov. 12, 2022, the day before the murders.
"You can see all six of these dynamic, vibrant, loving, special, innocent faces, taken together just across the street from their residence. And barely 12 hours before four of them would be brutally murdered in their sleep," Thompson said.
